The present invention relates to a digital broadcasting transmitting method, a digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus, and a digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus and, more particularly to a digital broadcasting transmitting method, a digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus, and a digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus in a digital broadcasting system wherein a transport stream in which plural packets comprising packets of video data of digitized video and packets of service information about broadcasting of the video have been multiplexed is transmitted over a network.
Conventionally, in TV broadcasting or the like, analog signals were transmitted and received. Recently, much attention has been focused on digital broadcasting in which video, audio, character or other data are handled in the same manner.
Advantages of the digital broadcasting are as follows. i) Since various types of data can be handled collectedly, integration of services can be provided. ii) A compression technique is employed to transmit/receive data, thereby a great deal of broadcasting of high quality can be performed with a limited transmission bandwidth. iii) Uniform services are offered to users by employing an error correcting technique. iv) High techniques may be employed with ease as an encryption technique for limited receiving.
In a case where the various types of data, especially moving pictures of large volumes of data are recorded, transmitted or received as digital data, analog information of the moving pictures is generally subjected to analog-to-digital conversion, and the resulting digital data is compressively coded. There has been proposed an MPEG standard (Moving Picture Experts Group) of a moving picture compression technique, which is widely available, and described in xe2x80x9cLATEST MPEG TEXTBOOKxe2x80x9d published by ASCII Corp. Aug. 1, 1994, and xe2x80x9cPRACTICAL MPEG TEXTBOOKxe2x80x9d published by ASCII Corp. Nov. 1, 1995, a video data transmitting/receiving method or a digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus according to MPEG described in these text books is well-known.
Generally, the digital data or compressively coded data is transmitted/received in packeted form. A packet is a unit of data in which entire data is divided into given size data. Transmitting/receiving data in packeted form allows higher efficiency and precision in data communication. For example, in a case where packet switching is performed over a computer network, since packets are respectively sent to transfer destination at different timings, where they are restructured to be original data, information about the transfer destination, transmitting end, or order of packets is added to respective packets.
Thus, in communication systems such as the digital communication system, by employing a packeting technique, various data such as video, audio and additional information are packeted and combined to create multiplexed data, to be transmitted/received.
FIGS. 57(a) and 57(b) show a prior art digital broadcasting system. As shown in FIG. 57(a), in a transmitting end, various types of data is packeted and then multiplexed, resulting in a transport stream to-be-transmitted.
As shown in FIG. 57(b), one or a plurality of transport streams are transmitted over a network. In general, each transport stream includes plural services, namely, xe2x80x9cPROGRAMxe2x80x9d which correspond to channels in conventional analog TV broadcasting, and each of the services includes one or a plurality of events which correspond to programs. Thus, in the digital TV broadcasting service, audio, video, and additional information of plural channels can be transmitted as multiplexed data. Viewers can utilize the digital broadcasting by the use of receivers adapted to the corresponding networks. Specifically, networks 1 and 2 in FIG. 57(b) are supposed to be used by receivers for them, respectively.
FIG. 58 shows an NIT (Network Information Table), an SDT (Service Description Table), and an EIT (Event Information Table), which are used in the digital broadcasting system. The NIT is information for each network, and contains various types of information about each network or information about a transport stream which belongs to each network. The SDT is information for each transport stream, and contains various types of information about each transport stream and information about a service which belongs to each transport stream. The EIT is information for each service, and contains various types of information about each service and information about events which belong to each service.
In a case where digital broadcasting is performed over plural networks, if failures should occur in lines or a satellite in satellite broadcasting, a transport stream which belongs to a network (original network) may be broadcast over another network. In this case, information about the network to which the transport stream belongs is held by an original network identifier (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cIDxe2x80x9d) contained in service information such as the NIT. Information about a network through which the transport stream has been broadcast is held by a network ID of the NIT
Note that it is not necessarily to specify the original network. In the prior art digital broadcasting system,
A. In a receiving end, normal receiving and processing is carried out only when an original network ID is recognized, and is identical to a network ID, and
B. In a receiving end, normal receiving and processing is carried out even if the original network ID is not recognized or it is different from the network ID. On the other hand, in TV broadcasting using conventional analog signals, video i.e., a moving picture is converted into TV signals, which are transmitted, and received by a receiver, in which the TV signals are reproduced, resulting in the moving picture, to be displayed. In case of audio signals in which the relationship between time and sound pressure may be handled as one-dimensional information, instantaneous (short time) sound pressure can be directly converted into electric signals, while in case of a moving picture comprising still pictures, since the still picture is two-dimensional information as d plane, the plane must be scanned so that it can be handled as one-dimensional information, i.e., plural scan lines, prior to conversion into signals. In this case, a non-interlace method and an interlace method are employed to make an image plural lines. In the former method, all scan lines are sequentially scanned for each frame (screen) from the top, and in the latter method, scan lines are scanned every other line.
In a display having a relatively low level of performance, since there is a large time difference between first and last lines in the non-interlace method, xe2x80x9cflickerxe2x80x9d occurs. Therefore, in the conventional TV broadcasting, the interlace method has been mainly employed. In general NTSC system, assuming that one frame (screen) has 525 scan lines, odd-numbered lines and even-numbered lines are scanned separately, that is, scanning is performed twice for two fields.
On the other hand, in a display having a relatively high level of performance, the non-interlace method can reduce xe2x80x9cflickerxe2x80x9d. In general displays for computers, number of displays per second of a non-interlace type display is about twice as many as that of an interlace type display. Accordingly, in TV of high quality image, attention has been paid to the non-interlace method in which high quality image is obtained and which is suited for CG (computer graphics).
As described above, the interlace method has been employed in TV broadcasting using analog signals to transmit/receive data of the digital TV broadcasting in the prior art digital broadcasting system, and accordingly techniques have been developed for video data according to the interlace method. Also, where a system uses video data according to the non-interlace method, the system has been developed as such.
Hereinafter, a description is given of the prior art digital broadcasting in which the video data according to the interlace method is transmitted/received.
FIG. 59 shows a method of transmitting video data of the digital TV broadcasting in the prior art digital broadcasting system. First, a construction of the prior art digital broadcasting system will be described with reference to FIG. 59. In the figure, reference numeral 100 designates a transmitting end, i.e., a digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus, and reference numeral 200 designates a receiving end, i.e., a digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus for a network in the digital broadcasting system. The digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus 100 includes an interlace video data storage unit 20, a video data packet creating unit 21, a service information storage unit 26, a service information packet creating unit 27, a multiplexing unit 28, and a transmitting unit 29. Specifically, the interlace video data storage unit 20 is used for storing interlace video data. The video data packet creating unit 21 is used for creating packets to-be-transmitted from video data stored in the interlace video data storage unit 20. The service information storage unit 26 is used for storing information about transmitted data to be added to multiplexed data to-be-transmitted. The service information packet creating unit 27 is used for creating packets to-be-transmitted from the information stored in the service information storage unit 26. The multiplexing unit 28 is used for multiplexing the interlace video data packets and the service information packets, to create multiplexed data to-be-transmitted. The transmitting unit 29 is used for transmitting the multiplexed data from the multiplexing unit 28. Although audio data is packeted and included in the multiplexed data in the transmitting apparatus 100, this will not be shown for simplicity.
The digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus 200 includes a receiving unit 1, a separating unit 2, an interlace video decoding unit 4, a program selecting unit 6a, and a video display 8. Specifically, the receiving unit 1 is used for receiving the multiplexed data. The separating unit 2 is used for separating video data or required information from the multiplexed data. The program selecting unit 6a is used for accepting program selection of the viewer, and informing the receiving unit 1 and the separating unit 2 of the selected program. As the program selecting unit 6a, a remote controller, a TV channel button, a mouse for personal computers, and so forth, which are all widely available, are used for input. The interlace video decoding unit 4 is used for decoding the interlace video data from the separating unit 2 and outputting a decoded video signal. The video display 8 is implemented by monitor and display, and used for displaying the decoded video signal as video. Although in a normal digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus, various components other than these, for example, a decoding unit for decoding audio data, are required, they are dispensed with herein.
FIG. 60 shows a structure of the multiplexed data of the digital TV broadcasting according to the prior art digital broadcasting transmitting method. Referring to FIG. 60, video data of PROGRAM NUMBER 1 and 3, service information NIT, PMT (Program Map Table), SDT, and EIT are multiplexed on a packet basis on a frequency of 12.568 GHz. In case of digital data transmission according to MPEG, plural PROGRAMS (corresponding to channels in normal analog broadcasting) are multiplexed and transmitted. These service information is used to select a desired program of a desired PROGRAM from the multiplexed data, and therefore these service information is also multiplexed and transmitted.
Data structures of these packets and the multiplexing are defined in MPEG, and will be described below.
A packet 11 is a packet containing video data of PROGRAM NUMBER 1 (channel 1). Assuming that a packet ID in front of the packet 11 is 0x91, the packet 11 is recognized as a packet of video data of the PROGRAM NUMBER 1 by the receiving end. A packet 12 is a packet containing video data of PROGRAM NUMBER 3 (channel 3). Assuming that a packet ID in front of the packet 12 is 0x93, the packet 12 is recognized as a packet of video data of the PROGRAM NUMBER 3 by the receiving end.
Packets 13xcx9c16 are service information packets. The packet 13 is an NIT packet, and defines a frequency on which video data of PROGRAM NUMBERs 1 and 3 is transmitted. In this illustrated example, the video data of PROGRAM NUMBERs 1 and 3 is multiplexed and transmitted on 12.568 GHz. A packet 14 is a PMT (Program Map table) packet, and illustrates that the video data of PROGRAM NUMBER 1 is contained in the packet of packet ID 0x91, and the video data of PROGRAM NUMBER 3 is contained in the packet of packet ID 0x93. A packet 15 is an EIT packet, and in general, there are two types of EIT packets, namely, a PF-EIT packet which contains information about present and following events, and an SC-EIT packet which contains information (schedule) about a relatively long-term (a week) event. The EIT packet 15 herein is SC-EIT packet indicative of schedule, and illustrates that in PROGRAM NUMBER 1, xe2x80x9cbaseball 1xe2x80x9d from 19:00 to 20:00, xe2x80x9cquizxe2x80x9d from 20:00 to 21:00, and xe2x80x9cwestern moviexe2x80x9d after 21:00, are supposed to be broadcast, and in PROGRAM NUMBER 3, xe2x80x9cbaseball 1xe2x80x9d from 19:00 to 20:00, xe2x80x9csoccerxe2x80x9d from 20:00 to 21:00, xe2x80x9cbaseball 2xe2x80x9d from 21:00 to 22:00, and xe2x80x9cnewsxe2x80x9d after 22:00 are supposed to be broadcast. A packet 16 is an SDT packet, and contains information for each service (PROGRAM) i.e., information indicative of PROGRAM NUMBER, type, and name for identification.
Next, operation of the prior art digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus 100, and the prior art digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus 200 will be described.
Referring to FIG. 59 again, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus 100, the video data packet creating unit 21 creates packets comprising a prescribed amount of data from the interlace video data stored in the interlace video data storage unit 20 as packets of video data of PROGRAM NUMBER 1 and PROGRAM NUMBER 3.
The service information packet creating unit 27 obtains required information from the service information storage unit 26, and creates NIT, PMT, EIT, and SDT as packets of prescribed bit lengths, respectively. The multiplexing means 28 multiplexes these packets as shown in FIG. 60, and the transmitting unit 29 transmits the resulting multiplexed packets.
The multiplexed data is transmitted to the reproducing apparatus of the viewer in micro wave, or by cable, to be utilized by the viewer. In the digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus 200, video data is reproduced as stated below.
The program selecting unit 6a accepts selection by the viewer, and informs the receiving unit 1 of the selected program. The viewer can directly give instructions on PROGRAM NUMBER by switching or inputting number, such as by specifying channels in normal TV. Also, the viewer can select PROGRAM by visual interface using a program table mentioned later.
The receiving unit 1 uses the transmitted NIT to receive signals of a frequency on which the video data of the specified program, i.e., PROGRAM NUMBER is transmitted, in compliance with selection by the viewer. The receiving unit 1 can obtain information contained in an NIT from an arbitrary transmitted signal, since any frequency signal includes a multiplexed NIT of the same contents.
As described above, in the prior art digital broadcasting system using the reproducing apparatus designed for the corresponding network, a network ID is obtained from an NIT of a received transport stream, and only when the network ID indicates the corresponding network, the reproducing apparatus performs processing to the transport stream.
In the receiving apparatus for use in A type system, a network ID and an original network ID of the corresponding transport stream are respectively extracted, to make comparison for them, and only when a match is found between them, receiving processing is performed. On the other hand, in the receiving apparatus for use in B type system, the original network ID is not extracted, or comparison is not made for them, and receiving processing is performed irrespective of contents of information of the original network ID.
Upon start of receiving processing, the receiving unit 1 checks contents of the NIT, to detect a value of frequency on which a signal of video data of a specified PROGRAM NUMBER is transmitted, and then selects frequency.
The separating unit 2 performs separation of the information received by the receiving unit 1 to obtain appropriate video data, on the basis of specification of the program selecting unit 6a. More specifically, where reproduction of video data of PROGRAM NUMBER 1 is specified by the program selecting unit 6a, contents of the PMT are checked to confirm that the packet ID of video data of PROGRAM NUMBER 1 is xe2x80x9c0x91xe2x80x9d and then a xe2x80x9c0x91xe2x80x9d packet is extracted and sent to the interlace video decoding unit 4. Likewise, where reproduction of video data of PROGRAM NUMBER 3 is specified by the program selecting unit 6a, contents of the PMT are checked to confirm that the packet ID of video data of PROGRAM NUMBER 3 is xe2x80x9c0x93xe2x80x9d and then a xe2x80x9c0x93xe2x80x9d packet is extracted and sent to the interlace video decoding unit 4.
Upon receipt of the video data from the separating unit 2, the interlace video decoding unit 4 decodes the video data by the interlace method, and outputs a decoded video signal to the video display 8, which displays an image of the decoded video signal on a screen.
Audio data is also processed in the same manner, although this is not shown.
Further, in the digital communication system, it is possible that service information added to video and audio data is used to offer information to viewers, or to improve an operation interface. Hereinafter, an example of utilizing the service information will be described.
FIG. 61 shows a prior art digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus having a program table display function and FIG. 62 illustrates a program table displayed on a screen of the apparatus. In the digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus, the schedule information of the EIT in FIG. 60 is separated by the separating unit 2 and processed by a program table creating table 30, and the resulting table is displayed on a screen shown in FIG. 62 in a visualized form. The viewer selects a desired program using a cursor, a remote controller, or the like as he/she likes, by referring to the program table, and the selection is obtained by the program selecting unit 6a. 
While only the interlace video data is processed in the aforesaid examples, non-interlace video data can be processed in the same manner, provided that the transmitting apparatus creates and transmits multiplexed data of non-interlace video data, and the reproducing apparatus is provided with a non-interlace video decoding unit in place of the interlace video decoding unit.
With respect to the relationship between the multiplexed data in FIG. 60 and the digital broadcasting system in FIGS. 57(a) and 57(b), the multiplexed data in FIG. 60 includes no audio data, and is the transport stream in FIG. 57(a), and is broadcast over one of the networks in the digital broadcasting system in FIG. 57(b).
As thus far described, according to the prior art digital broadcasting system, in the transmitting apparatus, the transmitting method, and the reproducing apparatus, predetermined video data scanning method or service information system is constructed for each network.
Accordingly, one problem associated with the prior art digital broadcasting system is that system extension is not facilitated by the fact that the transmitting apparatus, the transmitting method, and the reproducing apparatus are configured to one scanning method.
As mentioned previously, the interlace method is generally employed in the status quo. In the future, the non-interlace method may be commonly used, and it is therefore possible that both interlace video and non-interlace video are utilized in the same digital broadcasting system. Accordingly, there is an increasing demand for a video reproducing apparatus which reproduces video according to these two methods.
FIGS. 63(a) to 63(c) show problems with a case where extension is to be performed using the prior art transmitting apparatus, the transmitting method, and the reproducing apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 63(a), the prior art digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus is intended for a network 1 using the interlace method. Therefore, system extension is facilitated by adding a transport stream including interlace video data or a network using the interlace video data thereto.
However, in a case where a transport stream TS101 including non-interlace video data is added as shown in FIG. 63(b), or a network 2 using the non-interlace video data is added as shown in FIG. 63(c), to extend the system, the following problems may occur. Although in the reproducing apparatus intended for an extended network or a new network, existing transport streams and added transport streams can be reproduced correctly, receiving troubles occur caused by using different scanning methods when a conventional reproducing apparatus receives the added transport streams as shown in FIGS. 63(b) and 63(c). The prior art reproducing apparatuses in FIGS. 59 and 61 respectively perform decoding by the interlace method, and therefore cannot perform proper decoding to multiplexed non-interlace video data, and output appropriate video signals.
In addition, even if these two data coexists, no problems may occur so long as viewers select and reproduce only the interlace video data. However, since the program table does not list contents for distinguishing a non-interlace program from an interlace program as shown in FIG. 62, there is a possibility that viewers select a program of a scanning method different from that of a video decoding unit of the reproducing apparatus by mistake. In the prior art reproducing apparatus provided with the interlace video decoding unit, if the viewer selects a non-interlace program, video data cannot be reproduced correctly, causing xe2x80x9cflickerxe2x80x9d video to be output.
Likewise, in a case where the existing digital broadcasting system is constructed as being a system that uses only the non-interlace video data, similar problems may occur when the interlace video data is used.
In summary, one problem with the prior art system is as follows.
i) To extend the existing digital broadcasting system by addition in the prior art digital broadcasting transmitting method and the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus, only one of the interlace video data and non-interlace video data is used depending on setting of the system, which causes degree of freedom in program construction of TV broadcasting to be limited.
ii) Since the prior art digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus is provided with one of the interlace video decoding unit and the non-interlace video decoding unit, it is impossible to correctly reproduce a program of a scanning method different from that of a video decoding unit of its own in a system using plural methods.
iii) Since the program table does not list contents for distinguishing the non-interlace program from the interlace program to-be-displayed on a screen, there is a possibility that the viewer selects a program of a scanning method by mistake which cannot be reproduced correctly by the reproducing apparatus in the system using plural methods.
Another problem associated with the prior art digital broadcasting system is that service information transmitting method is predetermined on a fixed basis for each network, to which the transmitting apparatus and the receiving apparatus configure themselves, which makes it difficult to use service information of a different method.
For instance, the schedule information contained in the EIT is handled per segment of a predetermined time. As the predetermined time, 3 hours is assumed to be one segment, and segment numbers are allocated to the corresponding segments in a prescribed manner. Specifically, the segment numbers are allocated every three hours starting with xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d, or every day starting with xe2x80x9c0xe2x80x9d. The manner is determined for each network on a fixed basis. For example, in the network 1 in FIG. 57(b), on assumption that 3 hours is one segment, the segment numbers are sequentially allocated to respective segments.
As a consequence, when a service (PROGRAM) often includes long events, and therefore use of a 24 hour segment can create data to-be-transmitted with higher efficiency rather than use of a 3 hour segment, a method different from a method for use by a network to which the service belongs is not employed.
In brief, in the prior art digital broadcasting system, data cannot be used flexibly, which makes it difficult to realize system extension.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcasting transmitting method in which a digital broadcasting system constructed for one of interlace video data and non-interlace video data is extended by addition, a video data scanning method is specified for each network or for each service, and these video data is reproduced correctly in a receiving end, whereby degree of freedom in construction of a program to-be-transmitted is improved.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus which implements the digital broadcasting transmitting method.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus which receives transmitted data including interlace video data and non-interlace video data, and reproduces these video data correctly, to be displayed, in the extended digital broadcasting system.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus which identifies a scanning method of a selected program and prevents wrong selection when any of plural programs including interlace video data and non-interlace video data is selected and reproduced, in the extended digital broadcasting system.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a digital broadcasting transmitting method, a digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus, and a digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus in which service information transmitted by different methods is available.
Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the detailed description that follows. The detailed description and specific embodiments described are provided only for illustration since various additions and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will be apparent to those skill in the prior art from the detailed description.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a digital broadcasting transmitting method wherein a transport stream is created and transmitted in a digital broadcasting system in which the transport stream in which plural packets comprising video data packets of digitized video and service information packets of information about broadcasting using the video have been multiplexed, is transmitted over a network, comprises the step of creating and transmitting the transport stream in which the service information include scanning method information as information about a scanning method of digitizing the video.
As a result, in a receiving end, processing is correctly performed using the scanning method information.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the first aspect, to an existing digital broadcasting system using video digitized by a specified scanning method, a transport stream including a packet of video digitized by another scanning method is added, and the scanning method information included in the service information includes: information for distinguishing a transport stream which belongs to the existing digital broadcasting system from the transport stream to be added; and information for specifying a scanning method of the video of the packet multiplexed into the transport stream to be added.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the first aspect, the scanning method information includes network scanning method information indicative of a scanning method of video data transmitted over a network as information for each network.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the first aspect, the scanning method information includes transport stream scanning method information indicative of a scanning method of video data included in the transport stream as information for each transport stream.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the first aspect, the scanning method information is contained in an network information table indicative of network information, of the service information.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the fifth aspect, the scanning method information is included in an original network identifier contained in the network information table, indicative of an original network over which a transport stream must be transmitted.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the fifth aspect, the scanning method information is included in a network identifier contained in the network information table, indicative of a network over which a transport stream is transmitting.
According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the seventh aspect, information indicative of a network over which a transport stream is transmitted is included in a network name given to the network, contained in the network information table.
According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the first aspect, in the digital broadcasting system, a service comprises one or more programs, and the scanning method information includes service scanning method information indicative of the scanning method of the video data as information for each service.
According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the ninth aspect, the service scanning method information is contained in a network information table indicative of network information.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the tenth aspect, the service scanning method information is included in a service type in a service list descriptor contained in the network information table, indicative of a service to be offered by a network.
According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the tenth aspect, the service scanning method information is included in a service identifier in a service list descriptor contained in the network information table, indicative of a service to be offered by a network.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the twelfth aspect, information for specifying a service is included in a service name in the service list descriptor.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the ninth aspect, the service scanning method information is contained in a service description table indicative of service information of a transport stream.
According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the fourteenth aspect, the service scanning method information is included in a service type in a service list descriptor contained in the service description table, indicative of a service to be offered by a transport stream.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the fourteenth aspect, the service scanning method information is included in a service identifier in a service list descriptor contained in the service description table, indicative of a service to be offered by a transport stream.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the sixteenth aspect, information for specifying a service is included in a service name in the service list descriptor.
According to an eighteenth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the first aspect, in the digital broadcasting system, plural programs are transmitted, and the scanning method information includes program scanning method information indicative of the scanning method of the video data as information for each program.
According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the eighteenth aspect, the program scanning method information is contained in an event information table indicative of program information.
According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of claim of the nineteenth aspect, the program scanning method information is included in an event list descriptor contained in the event information table.
According to a 21st aspect of the present invention, a digital broadcasting transmitting method wherein a transport stream is created and transmitted in a digital broadcasting system in which the transport stream in which plural packets comprising video data packets of digitized video and service information packets of information about broadcasting using the video have been multiplexed, is transmitted over a network, comprises:
creating and transmitting the transport stream in which the service information includes an event information table indicative of program information and transmitting method information of the event information table.
According to a 22nd aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the 21st aspect, the transmitting method information of the event information table is contained in a network information table indicative of network information.
According to a 23rd aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the 22nd aspect, the transmitting method information of the event information table is included in an event information table type identifier in a descriptor contained in the network information table, and specifies the transmitting method of the event information table for each network.
According to a 24th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the 22nd aspect, the transmitting method information of the event information table is included in an event information table type identifier in a transport stream descriptor contained in the network information table, indicative of a transport stream to be offered by a network, and specifies the transmitting method of the event information table for each transport stream.
According to a 25th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the 22nd aspect, the transmitting method information of the event information table is included in an event information table type identifier in a service list descriptor contained in the network information table, indicative of a service to be offered by a network, and specifies the transmitting method of the event information table for each service.
According to a 26th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the 21st aspect, the transmitting method information of the event information table is contained in a service description table indicative of service information of a transport stream.
According to a 27th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting method of the 26th aspect, the transmitting method information of the event information table is included in an event information table type identifier in a service list descriptor contained in the service description table, indicative of a service included in a transport stream, and specifies the transmitting method of the event information table for each service.
According to a 28th aspect of the present invention, a digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus which creates and transmits a transport stream in a digital broadcasting system in which the transport stream in which plural packets comprising video data packets of digitized video and service information packets of information about broadcasting using the video have been multiplexed, is transmitted over a network, comprises:
a non-interlace video data packet creating unit for creating a non-interlace video data packet from non-interlace video data in which video is digitized by a non-interlace method; an interlace video data packet creating unit for creating an interlace video data packet from interlace video data in which video is digitized by an interlace method; a service information packet from service information including scanning method information for digitizing the video; a multiplexing unit for multiplexing the non-interlace video data packet, the interlace video data packet, and the service information packet, to create a transport stream; and a transmitting unit for transmitting the transport stream created by the multiplexing unit to a network.
As a result, in a receiving end, processing is correctly performed using the scanning method information.
According to a 29th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 28th aspect, to an existing digital broadcasting system using video digitized by a specified scanning method, a transport stream including a packet of video digitized by another scanning method is added, and the service information packet creating unit creates the service information packet in which the scanning method information includes: information for distinguishing a transport stream which belongs to the existing digital broadcasting system from the transport stream to be added; and information for specifying a scanning method of video of a packet multiplexed into the transport stream to be added.
According to a 30th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 28th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives network scanning method information indicative of a scanning method of video data transmitted over a network as information for each network, as the scanning method information.
According to a 31st aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of 28th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives transport stream scanning method information indicative of a scanning method of video data included in the transport stream as information for each transport stream, as the scanning method information.
According to a 32nd aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 28th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the scanning method information to a network information table packet indicative of network information, of the service information.
According to a 33rd aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 32nd aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the scanning method information to an original network identifier contained in the network information table packet, indicative or an original network over which a transport stream must be transmitted.
According to a 34th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 32nd aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the scanning method information to a network identifier contained in the network information table packet, indicative of a network over which a transport stream is transmitted.
According to a 35th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 34th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives information for specifying a network to a network name contained in the network information table packet, indicative of a name given to the network.
According to a 36th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 28th aspect, in the digital broadcasting system, a service comprises one or more programs, and the service information packet creating unit gives the scanning method information including service scanning method information indicative of the video data scanning method as information for each service.
According to a 37th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 36th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the service scanning method information to a network information table packet indicative of network information.
According to a 38th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 37th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the service scanning method information to a service type in a service list descriptor contained in the network information table packet, indicative of a service to be offered by a network.
According to a 39th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 37th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the service scanning method information to a service identifier in a service list descriptor contained in the network information table packet, indicative of a service to be offered by a network.
According to a 40th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 39th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives information for specifying a service to a service name in the service list descriptor.
According to a 41st aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 36th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the service scanning method information to a service description table packet indicative of service information of a transport stream.
According to a 42nd aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 41st aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the service scanning method information to a service type in a service list descriptor contained in the service description table packet, indicative of a service to be offered by a transport stream.
According to a 43rd aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 41st aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the service scanning method information to a service identifier in a service list descriptor contained in the service description table packet, indicative of a service to be offered by a transport stream.
According to a 44th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 43rd aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives information for specifying a service to a service name in the service list descriptor.
According to a 45th aspect of the present aspect, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 28th aspect, in the digital broadcasting system, plural programs are transmitted, and the service information packet creating unit creates the scanning method information including program scanning method information as information indicative of a scanning method of the video data for each program.
According to a 46th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 45th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the program scanning method information to an event information table packet indicative of program information.
According to a 47th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 46th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the program scanning method information to an event list descriptor contained in the event information table packet.
According to a 48th aspect of the present invention, a digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus which creates and transmits a transport stream in a digital broadcasting system in which the transport stream in which plural packets comprising video data packets of digitized video and service information packets of information about broadcasting using the video have been multiplexed, is transmitted over a network, comprises:
a non-interlace video data packet creating unit for creating a non-interlace video data packet from non-interlace video data in which video is digitized by a non-interlace method; an interlace video data packet creating unit for creating an interlace video data packet from interlace video data in which video is digitized by an interlace method; a service information packet creating unit for creating a service information packet containing an event information table indicative of program information and transmitting method information of the event information table; a multiplexing unit for multiplexing the non-interlace video data packet, the interlace video data packet, and the service information packet, to create a transport stream; and a transmitting unit for transmitting the transport steam created by the multiplexing unit to a network.
According to a 49th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 48th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the transmitting method information of the event information table to a network information table packet indicative of network information.
According to a 50th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 49th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the transmitting method information of the event information table for specifying a transmitting method for each network to an event information table type identifier in a descriptor contained in the network information table packet.
According to a 51st aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 49th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the transmitting method information of the event information table for specifying a transmitting method for each transport stream to an event information table type identifier in a transport stream list descriptor contained in the network information table packet, indicative of a transport stream to be offered by a network.
According to a 52nd aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 49th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the transmitting method information of the event information table for specifying the transmitting method of the event information table for each service, to an event information table type identifier in a service list descriptor contained in the network information table packet, indicative of a service to be offered by a network.
According to a 53rd aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 48th aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the transmitting method information of the event information table to a service description table packet indicative of service information of a transport stream.
According to a 54th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting transmitting apparatus of the 53rd aspect, the service information packet creating unit gives the transmitting method information of the event information table for specifying the transmitting method of the event information table for each service to an event information table type identifier in a service list descriptor contained in the service description table packet, indicative of a service given to a transport stream.
According to a 55th aspect of the present invention, a digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus which receives a transport stream and reproduce video from video data using service information in a digital broadcasting system in which the transport stream in which plural packets comprising video data packets of digitized video and service information packets of information about broadcasting using the video have been multiplexed, is transmitted over a network, comprises:
a receiving unit for receiving multiplexed data as the transport stream; a separating unit for extracting video data and service information from the multiplexed data received by the receiving unit; a service selecting unit for accepting selection of video data by an operator and informing said separating unit of video data to be extracted; an identification information storage unit for storing identification information about a video data scanning method, of the service information separated and extracted by said separating unit;
a non-interlace video decoding unit for decoding non-interlace video data separated and extracted by the separating unit, and outputting a decoded signal;
an interlace video decoding unit for decoding interlace video data separated and extracted by the separating unit, and outputting a decoded signal; and
a scanning method instructing unit for deciding a scanning method of the video data selected by the operator on the basis of the information stored in said identification information storage unit, and giving an instruction for decoding to one of said non-interlace video decoding unit and said interlace video decoding unit on the basis of the decision.
As a result, the apparatus obtains scanning method information included in the service information, and perform reproduction according to the corresponding scanning method.
According to a 56th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus of the 55th aspect further comprises an identification information decision unit for instructing said separating unit to separate and extract information required for program creation from the received multiplexed data on the basis of the information stored in said identification information storage unit; a program table storage unit for storing information required for program creation which has been separated and extracted by said separating unit in accordance with the instruction from said identification information decision unit; and a program table creating unit for creating a program table in the digital broadcasting system on the basis of the information stored in said program table storage unit.
As a result, the program table is displayed appropriately using program table information included in the service information.
According to a 57th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus of the 56th aspect, the identification information storage unit stores information for specifying a scanning method of the video data of the service information which is multiplexed into the transport stream and transmitted, and the identification information decision unit instructs said separating unit to separate and extract the information required for program creation and the information for specifying the scanning method from the received multiplexed data on the basis of the information stored in said identification information storage unit; and the program table creating unit creates the program table including the scanning method information.
According to a 58th aspect of the present invention, in the digital broadcasting reproducing apparatus of the 56th aspect, the identification information storage unit stores transmitting method information of an event information table which specifies the transmitting method of the event information table of the service information which is multiplexed into the transport stream and transmitted, and the identification information decision unit instructs said separating unit to separate and extract information required for program creation from the received multiplexed data on the basis of the transmitting method information of the event information table stored in said identification information storage unit.